Why Would You Change Your Name?

Since going public with the new name, Hope Bridges, I’ve been asked several questions, “So why the name change?” “What’s up?” “What’s going on with this ministry can we get an update?” There are several reasons for the name change. So here is a list…

Hope for the Orphans of Burma was too long.

It was hard to remember.

The word Burma is limiting geographically.

The word orphan is limiting as well.

Hope for the Orphans of Burma is a long name and it’s hard to remember. I don’t know how many people have asked over and over, “What’s the name of your organization again?” If it’s too long and can’t be remembered that can make growing a ministry a challenge.

The word Burma is limiting. We have been working in northern Thailand with the children of refugees. Imagine telling people the name, Hope for the Orphans of Burma and then say we work in northern Thailand. It’s not a big deal once it gets explained but a little confusing.

Another issue with the word Burma is if we ever wanted to form a Thai foundation/nonprofit we couldn’t use the word Burma in our name. Even if we wanted to form a foundation/nonprofit anywhere else in the world we would have the same issue of being defined by a geographic area.

The word orphans is limiting as well. Our work is with children’s homes and the majority of those kids have at least one parent and sometimes both parents. Most are not true orphans. Some of the kids live in children’s homes because their parents don’t have enough money to provide for them. They may have been exploited by their parents to pay a debt, or the parents have other issues such as drug or alcohol addictions. No matter why they live in these homes the children need help.

This name change has been in the works for several months. The board of directors has had several conversations about changing the name. We’ve prayed about it, we’ve talked with outsiders, I’ve had several conversations with my pastor. We had a 2 hour meeting to work through a name change and after processing that for a time we chose Hope Bridges.

Our mission is, “Building bridges over barriers of poverty, trafficking and exploitation to freedom and peace for the people of God.”

We still work in northern Thailand with children’s homes and we have a few more exciting plans in the works. Stay tuned!